Zoo lights at the Houston Zoo
Welcome to our zoo—The Houston Zoo connects communities with animals to inspire action to save wildlife and is committed to being a leader in the global effort to save animals in the wild. We are home to over 6,000 animals for whom we provide the highest standard in animal care. Each year, we welcome over two million guests who come to experience our animals and ecosystems. Through their admission tickets or membership, we've been able to support 49 wildlife protection projects in 27 countries around the world. We are proud to be the second most-visited zoo in the US, and the most-attended cultural attraction in the region. Houston's favorite holiday lights experience is now back at the Houston Zoo! The beautiful zoo grounds are the perfect setting to enjoy the sights and sounds of the season with your friends and family.
Our schedule
●November 18,2023—January 8, 2024;
●Closed on December 7, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day;
●5:30pm.—10:30p. m., last entry at 9:30p. m.
Tickets
●$20 per adult; $10 per child.
●Children aged 2 and under are free.
●Save 20% per ticket when you book tickets through the Member Portal.
●Tickets are only available online and will not be sold on-site at the zoo. We do not offerrefunds or exchanges.
Holiday favorites
●Experience the Holiday Grove with animal-themed lanterns and flowers under the great oak trees wrapped in winter lights.
●Take a photo in front of the towering 33-foot-tall color-changing holiday tree.
●Visit the Coca-Cola Polar Bear display as you enjoy your hot chocolate.
With artificial intelligence（AI）seemingly working its way into every technology out there, one area where it's considered particularly promising is in helping doctors. And already, AI is entering some doctors' offices.
Dr. Michael Mansour of Massachusetts General Hospital is an early user who's helped by a form of AI that could someday change the way doctors get information. When a patient comes in with unknown infection（感染）, Mansour turns to a computer program called UpToDate. It's a common tool, with more than 2 million users at 44,000 health care organizations in over 190 countries. Basically, it's Google for doctors — searching a huge database（数据库）of articles written by experts in the field, who are all getting information from the latest research.
Wolters Kluwer Health, the company that makes UpToDate, is trying to incorporate（整合）AI so that doctors can have more of a conversation with the database.
Some doctors hope to use AI to comb through a patient's medical history before an appointment（预约）. In some cases, Dr. June-Ho Kim, who directs a program on primary care at Ariadne Labs, says AI technology may also help primary care doctors look after patients without the help of specialists."It will free up specialists' time to focus on more difficult cases that they need to really home in on, rather than the ones that could be answered through a few questions," he says.
Dr. Marc Succi, who was a co-worker of Kim, says, "AI will finally prove to be a trusted medical tool. AI won't replace doctors, but doctors who use AI will replace doctors who do not. It will become very common just like designing a PPT on a computer. It's that level of leap."
After their six-month orbital journey in the Tiangong space station, the three astronauts of Shenzhou XIV mission shared their experiences and feelings with the public on Friday in the first news conference.
Faced with domestic reporters at the Astronaut Centre of China in Beijing, mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong said that every day during their mission was full of work. For example, they were tasked with preparing for and monitoring the arrival of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, and making three spacewalks.
Chen recalled the moment he and his teammates—Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe—met their fellow astronauts in the Shenzhou XV flight inside the Tiangong station. "We had paid a lot of attention to news about the Shenzhou XV mission and the crew several days before they set out. When their spacecraft actually launched, we were watching the live broadcast and we were so happy that we kept clapping our hands for a long time. In the hours before their spacecraft arrived at the station, we were supposed to have a sleep but none of us really went to bed. The moment I was about to open the hatch after their spacecraft connected with the space station, I saw them through the window and I waved my hand to welcome them to our home, and theirs," he said.
Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, said the Shenzhou XIV was her second spaceflight and she made a paper "lucky star" each day in the mission. She said she often stared at China when the station flew over the country. "I know that there are numerous females in our nation working hard to pursue their dreams with courage and determination," she said. "I wish that each of us could realize our ambition." Cai Xuzhe, who made his first spaceflight, recalled that eating the vegetables they grew in the space station brought a lot of happiness to the crew, though taking care of the plants was never easy.
Two and a half months before the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins, forecasters have already predicted and warned that warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the development of a La Niña in the Pacific may create a "perfect storm" of the conditions needed for major hurricanes.
Key to the formation of any tropical cyclone（气旋）is the combination of warm ocean temperatures and the absence of what is known as wind shear. Alex DaSilva, a forecaster, explains that wind shear occurs when wind changes direction and speed at different heights in the atmosphere. When there's much wind shear, it essentially knocks over those clouds and prevents tropical systems from really becoming stronger. Besides, hurricanes also need surface water to be at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher. That warm water, and the warm air just above it, provides fuel for the storm. The record data for February are 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal.
Over periods ranging from three to seven years, the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean alternately（交 替 地）warm and cool as a result of a repeatedly occurring climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation（ENSO）. During an El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific increase, and those warmer temperature s affect the path of the Pacific jet stream, which in turn brings drier, warmer weather to the northern United States and Canada, and wetter conditions to the Gulf Coast and southeast. El Niño reduces the possibility of Atlantic hurricane formation because it lowers hurricane activity and increases wind shear. La Niña has just the opposite effect of El Niño. During the 2023 season, ENSO was in an El Niño phase. By the time the 2024 season starts, it is likely to have shifted fully into a La Niña.
"If a tropical storm system comes into this area, it could rapidly intensify, potentially close to land," DaSilva cautions. "And that's why people need to be on alert and have their hurricane plans ready. Because any system with these kinds of conditions can explode very quickly. That's what we're concerned about."
Ways to Employ the Power of Your Strengths
If you have ever had a job interview, you have likely been asked what your strengths are. It's a common question. It's often easier for them to focus on their weaknesses instead. Below are five ways you can identify your strengths and use them to help you.
Take an online assessment of your character strengths. Once you have taken the assessment, brainstorm different ways that you can use your core strengths throughout the week, then document your experience each time you use your strength in a new way.
Identify times you've used your strengths in the past. Write out these examples in a journal. Next, reflect on how these strengths have served you in different areas of your life.
Reflect on feedback（反馈）you've received from others about your strengths. Think back to times when others provided you with positive feedback about your strengths. Write out what the positive feedback was.
Use a strengths jar. Anytime you notice that you have used one of your strengths, write down what strength was used and put it in the jar.
Engage in new activities and hobbies that test your strengths. Getting out of your comfort zone and trying new activities, hobbies, or classes can help you get in touch with new strengths. Contrary to what you may think, being good at the activity or hobby you try is not needed to get in touch with your strengths. For example, if you decide to try rollerblading（轮滑）for the first time and fall repeatedly, you may discover that humor is a strength.
A．Make full use of your strengths.
B．Identify your signature strengths.
C．What you find may surprise you.
D．Of course, not everyone has the same hobbies.
E．However, many people have a hard time identifying their strengths.
F．Reflect about previous times when you exhibited your signature strengths.
G．Once every few weeks, set aside some time to review what you have written.
Summer Clayton may not have children in real life, but he's "a proud dad" to 2。8 million people on the Internet.
Every week, he sits down to dinner and has a 1 chat with his "kids". He looks into the camera and asks about their day. He 2 them how to shave, and reminds them it's OK to be 3 when life hurts. To some, his one-way（单向的）conversations may seem 4 . But his efforts have struck a chord（引起共鸣）among people who 5 a father figure—or just someone who listens to their 6 in the daily life.
Clayton is a civilian fitness trainer in real life. He started 7 on the Internet in late 2020 with inspirational and how-to videos, and 8 jokingly called him "dad". His first video to go viral（广为传播的）was a shaving how-to—a 9 to someone who sent him a message asking, "Hey Dad, can you teach me how to shave?" The video 10 , earning him tens of thousands of new fans within hours.
Clayton's extended family comes in all 11 . Many of his "kids" are old enough to be his parents. Clayton's 12 doesn't seem to bother his fans. At58, Sarah D'Imperio may not seem like Clayton's target audience, but she believes that it's a（n） 13 idea, especially for youngsters（少年；儿童）who may not have a paternal（父亲的）role model that listens or has 14 to listen. "It's just heartwarming to see someone trying to 15 a small part of that role for anyone," she says.
Shen Congwen （bear）in Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County, Hunan Province. He was great modern Chinese writer as well as a research sc holar of historical cultural relics. The Border Town is Shen Congwen's representative work, centers on Cuicui.
Cuicui is raised by her grandfather. 17 years ago, her mother was pregnant（怀孕的）before marriage and she committed suicide after giving birth to Cuicui by drinking cold water in the river. When Cuicui grows up, her grandfather begins to worry about her （marry）, because he doesn't want Cuicui to have a miserable life like her mother. There is arich man in the border town, who has two handsome sons that both fall in love with Cuicui. Cuicui likes the younger son while her grandfather misunderstands her feelings and thinks the older son is more suitable for Cuicui. （sad）, the older son dies in an accident and the rich man puts the blame on Cuicui's grandfather. the younger son loves Cuicui, he can't marry her after the death of his dear brother. Finally, he chooses （leave）the town. Cuicui's grandfather dies a cold, rainy night, leaving Cuicuialone in the world. However, grief doesn't break her down. She takes over her grandfather's work, （wait）for the younger son to come back.
From this simple story of love, family duty, and doubts about what the future might bring, Shen Congwen paints a vivid picture of early 20th Century rural life in China. Recently, this book （become）symbolic to a new generation of Chinese people, providing a fascinating image of life in rural China.
注意：1．写作词数应为80左右；2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The Chain of Kindness
Dear fellow students,
……
That's all, thank you!
My family had only recently moved into a new neighborhood. All of my neighbors have been very friendly and helpful since we moved in.
However, Mrs Davis, an elderly lady living in the last house on the other side of the road, escaped associating with us, or anyone else. When I asked around the neighborhood why, they warned me not to go after her because they thought she was insane（精神失常的）and preferred staying alone after losing her husband and only daughter in an aircraft crash. After that, she stayed isolated（孤立的）from all the neighbors, refusing all the care and help.
I often saw her on the streets during the evening, but she was always by herself. She appeared weak and I always wanted to help her, but after hearing what my neighbors had said about her, I wasn't sure whether I should.
One day, when I was on my way to the supermarket, our paths crossed. I was walking past her and overheard her singing a tune. It immediately drew my attention because my parents used to sing the same song with me. I began to sing along with her, and she smiled at me for the first time. But when I smiled back, she quickly hurried her pace and went home.
She seemed very different to me that day. I refused to trust my neighbors' claims that she had cut herself off from the rest of society because she was insane, so the next day, I knocked on her door. Mrs Davis was home, and instead of letting me in, she just looked at me silently through the window. I noticed her staring at me and was about to walk to the window when she quickly closed the curtains.
The next day, I revisited her house. "Hello, I brought you something," I called out to her. "It's the record of the music you were singing yesterday."
注意：1．续写词数应为150左右；2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The door opened and Mrs Davis' eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me standing there.
……
Several days later in the morning, the doorbell rang at my house.
